An Irishman who overstayed his 90-day tourist visa more than 15 years ago has been held in a Texas immigration detention center for nearly five months instead of being deported, calling the experience a form of “torture.”
Seamus Culleton, married to an American woman, told Irish media that he holds a valid U.S. work permit and has a pending green card application when he was unexpectedly detained by immigration agents in Boston, where he owns and operates a construction company.
Culleton was handcuffed and flown over 2,000 miles from his home to a detention facility at Fort Bliss Army Base in Texas, where he claims he has been confined to the same “filthy” room throughout his stay.
Seamus Culleton, a Kilkenny native married to an American woman and owner of a Boston-based construction company, has been in ICE custody since his detention last September.
“It’s a nightmare down here,” Culleton told RTE, claiming he fears for his life. “It’s just torture; I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Culleton said he does not understand why he is being held, though he admitted to refusing to sign documents approving his deportation.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pointed to that refusal as evidence that Culleton chose to remain in detention, noting that he originally entered the United States under the visa waiver program in 2009 and overstayed his 90-day tourist visa.
“He entered the United States in 2009 under the visa waiver program, which allows you to stay in the US for 90 days without a visa. He failed to depart the
